Tag Archives: review

Gladiator 2: Not the Worst of the Pointless Ridley Scott Sequels

Sequels, to paraphrase Jamie Kennedy in Scream 2, need to be the same, but bigger. And Gladiator 2 does just that.

Honestly, I was never a fan of the original, but a recent re-watch showed more nuance than I remembered, and the family was all in so we got to see it while Bella was in town.

Importantly, it is not the worst of the pointless Ridley Scott sequels (*cough* Prometheus *cough*), and actually it works well enough to be just worth the long runtime. No, it’s not as good as the original, but it’s also not too bad either. It could have been much much worse. Much.

Most importantly, though, is Denzel Washington, who is – pun intended – a legend and welcome on any set. The movie is ultimately his as he chews his way through every scene, and would come back for more if given the chance. He is almost worth the price of admission alone. Almost.

So yeah. Gladiator 2. If you want to see it, you should. If you don’t, then you’re not missing anything.

Stranger Things is Honest in its Love of the 80s and D&D

Finished watching Stranger Things. Loved it, but I’m pretty much the ideal audience. It’s not for everyone, but like True Detective Season 1, it rises above and entertains better than most.

But hey, some people are sticklers and parse everything out, looking for every possible fault before deciding from on high whether something is good or bad. Some people need to make their opinion bigger and more important than the art they are commenting on. Here, cruising along in the 21st century, everybody thinks they know better than artists who pour everything they have into a project.

Me? I want to be entertained. But more importantly I want to be entertained honestly. I want to see clarity of vision, risk taking, and art with boundaries. I want to see love and passion for a project, brought to life with care and creativity. And while I loath both laziness and complacency, I mostly hate those who compromise a vision because they refuse to be honest. With themselves. With their characters. With their audience.

You may find fault in Stranger Things because it’s not perfect. You may not like it because you can’t relate to the characters. You may think its horror-SF trappings cliche and dated. And that’s fine. Good for you.

But I liked Stranger Things. A lot. Because it was written for me, and not just 12-years-old and playing D&D in the early 80s me, who is basically a composite of many of the main characters. But also the me who is a father who loves his child and would do anything for her. And also the fanboy me who likes to be entertained.

And finally for the writer-me, who wants people with my upbringing and interests to be successful and create more cool stuff. The show is honest with its characters, its setting, and, most importantly, its audience. It gives us everything it’s got and asks for little in return. So yeah, I liked Stranger Things. A lot.

I hope you do too.

New HWLL Review

As I prep the hard- and soft-cover books for shipment, I ran across a review of He Who Laughs Last that I’d like to share.

The review is here. My favorite part is, of course, the sentence: “Well presented, well laid out, well written, I put this one in the heavy yes column.”

I will have more posts and thoughts coming up shortly, as I begin the final stage of my Kickstarter project. In the meantime, enjoy your summer gaming!

Murnie, “Crackle”

For piano rock fans, there are simply never enough bands to go around. Sure, there is Ben Folds Five (welcomed back after 10+ year sabbatical) or early Billy Joel or Tori Amos, but if you like rock bands where the piano takes the lead, it’s hard to feel sated. Fortunately, the Scottish band Murnie fills that gap, and they’ve got a new EP Crackle to prove it.

One of the best things about the death of the music industry is how it has blown apart the need to release a “proper” album. Bands now can release music on their own, in whatever form, so Murnie can put the four song EP Crackle out there to show progress and keep fans’ appetites whetted, which is exactly what it does. Over the course of the four songs, the piano-bass/gtr-drums+vox trio covers a lot of ground – from the opening rocker “Brass Boy,” to the wistful “Don’t Forget,” all the way until the longer, thoughtful “Little Girl Who Stole the World.” The shorter “Spidermonkey” again shows that the trio knows how to rock. All in all, Crackle is a great four song EP, and I was glad to add Murnie to my music library.

Another benefit of the downfall of the music industry is that bands can now record pretty much everything they need to put out a record on their own. Sometimes this is good, sometimes not. The Crackle EP was clearly recorded and produced on a string budget, which is great for the flexibility and independence it can afford a band, although sometimes a recording can lack the professional sheen that spending a little cash can acquire. Crackle needs just a bump in that direction (a good mastering goes a long way) and would raise the bar for the band significantly.

There is no question Murnie has all the skill it needs. They write great songs that give us piano rock fans exactly what we demand: solid rhythm section led by a rocking piano and melodic vocals. I imagine they’re a great live band, and they clearly get how to write, record, and release music on their own. Here’s to hoping their next EP is a bit more polished (perhaps an IndieGoGo project can raise some funds), which I would gladly pick up.

Listen to Crackle for yourself, and sate all your Murnie needs here.

Custom Built Empire, “Mission Statement”

After ten years together, Custom Built Empire (CBE) has finally released a record (literally), and while the album title Mission Statement is certainly appropriate for an 8-song EP, a more appropriate title might be “Finally Grows Up.” For while ten years is a long time to make your music available to the masses, CBE has finally put together a great sounding record that encompasses everything they love: delivering crunchy rock for however long they damn well please.

CBE falls squarely in the genre of “thinking man’s rock,” reveling in odd time signatures and extended song lengths familiar to fans of Tool and Mastadon. The dual guitar attack build solid walls on which to stack interesting melodies with lyrics about unusual people and their bad habits (my favorite song, “Robi,“ is about a crippling Robitussen addiction – bet you haven’t heard a song about that before). But the key appeal of CBE is the bass and drums; for fans of rocking rhythm section, CBE is not to be missed.

Songs like Flutter, Relentless, and Waking Sleep highlight incredible bass/drums interplay that is thoughtful, powerful and locked-in like the best of them. If your favorite part Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Mastadon or any other complicated hard rock band is the rhythm section; if you are, like me, always in search of a bass/drums combo that “gets it” by providing unique and challenging grooves; if you’re looking for a rocking San Francisco band to support (when they play their annual gig) – then CBE is a great addition to your music collection.

In the final analysis, the record sounds great all around, and is meant to be turned up. The Hit Wall Studio recording has a great professional sound that does not disappoint. That matched with a band that finally delivers the goods it has been promising for ten years means that Mission Statement is definitely worth the investment. Pick it up, turn it up, rock out.

You can hear the record here, and purchase it here. Do it!